Delicacies
by Death's Inevitable Kiss
Summary: Remus Lupin loved chocolate. Anybody whom was asked about the topic, they would all answer the same thing: yes, he loved chocolate, no, I don't know why. Only two people ever knew the reason, and one of them was dead. Her name was Blaire. Implied Remus/OC


**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, nor do I own Liz or Blaire; I only own Letti.**

**Author's Note: Happy birthday, EmilyLupin77! Here is your present! :D**

Remus Lupin loved chocolate. Anybody whom was asked about the topic, they would all answer the same thing: yes, he loved chocolate, no, I don't know why. Only two people ever knew the reason, and one of them was dead.

There wasn't a single person who had ever questioned him about his reasons for adoring the brown delicacy. If they had, they would've gotten the answer.

Her name was Blaire.

He had met her at Hogwarts. She hadn't known the effect she had on him the first time they met. Her smile was blinding, it was contagious. When he had bumped into her all those years ago, she had sent that smile directly at him, attempting an apology before he brushed it off.

"It was my fault," he had told her, smiling shyly. His cheeks had felt extremely warm that day, and his skin felt tight, constricting. "I hadn't been watching where I was going."

"Don't be silly," she'd said, rolling her hazel eyes. Her bangs had been short back then, the blond fringe barely reaching her eyebrows, giving Remus a clear few of the irises he would later become attached to. They had lit up the next moment, her eyes widening as an even larger grin spread across her lips. "Here!"

The short blond had thrusted something into his hands, and, upon inspection, Remus noticed that it was chocolate. "Hershey's chocolate" the label read. The werewolf hadn't had an inkling of an idea as to what that was, but he assumed it had something to do with muggles.

"Er, thanks," the sandy haired boy had said, nibbling on it nervously. What else was he supposed to say?

"You're welcome!" And, with one final smile, the blond had disappeared into a compartment that was occupied by two other girls, a redhead and another blond.

He had been too shy to open the compartment door and ask her what her name was. Instead, he had opted for finding his own compartment.

The next time the werewolf had come face to face with Blaire had been the following year. She had been sorted into Hufflepuff, he in Gryffindor, so he hadn't had much time to speak with her.

"Blaire," the name rolled off his tongue nicely, bringing a smile to his face. The blond turned around, abandoning her search for her friends' compartment, and looked at him quizzically.

"Remus, right?" Blaire asked, smiling at him. At his nod, her smile grew. "I haven't seen much of you; how was your summer?"

The werewolf shrugged. "Fine, I s'ppose. How was yours?"

"Awful! My brothers wouldn't stop bugging me," the blond whined, rubbing her face in exasperation. "They kept trying to get me to do magic even though I told them it was prohibited outside of Hogwarts. They kept calling me a liar and saying that I just couldn't do any magic."

"I know something that'll cheer you up," Remus grinned, reaching into his pants pocket. He pulled out two chocolate frogs, handing one to the girl in front of him. "My debt has been paid."

Blaire gave him a funny look as she accepted the candy. "You still remember that?" she asked, referring to exactly a year before when she had given him a bar of her favorite brand name chocolate.

"Of course," Remus smiled. How could he not remember? The blond was the only thing that constantly occupied his thoughts. Well, the only thing if you ignored his 'time of the month', as his friends, Sirius Black, James Potter, and Peter Pettigrew, had dubbed it.

"That's really sweet, Remus. Thank you," she grinned, wrapping a thin arm around his shoulders in a one-armed hug before pulling away quickly, her cheeks slightly pink. Remus felt his face heat up, and he looked away. Why had his stomach suddenly felt like it was being attacked by bees? "Uhm, I better get going. Er, Liz and Letti will be worried…See you around, I guess."

"Yeah, see you," the Gryffindor responded, watching her as she went in search of the same two friends she had sat with the first day they met.

It wasn't until the end of their seventh year that the two really spoke to each other again. Dumbledore had called them to his office, along with their respective group of friends. Blaire had been the one to hold her friend, Letti, back from ripping his friend, Sirius, to pieces. The two had rarely, if ever, gotten along.

"What's the snake doing here?" Sirius had snarled.

"Oh, you know, _not_ disgracing my family's name," Letti smirked.

"Really? That's funny, 'cause I could've sworn you were a half blood."

"Perhaps, but at least my family actually likes me."

"At least I don't sleep with my ex's younger sibling!"

"Why you—!"

The blond Slytherin had launched herself at Sirius, but was quickly held back by Blaire. Remus sent them an apologetic look, knowing fully well that his dark haired friend wouldn't say sorry himself.

"The sexual tension is just suffocating, isn't it?"

Everybody turned their gaze to Blaire's redheaded friend, Liz. Her cheeks flared up a bright red when she noticed that she had drawn the group's attention.

"There is no sexual tension!" Letti and Sirius snapped before turning their glares onto each other.

"Let's just get inside," Blaire had muttered, shaking her head in submission as she stepped towards the gargoyle that guarded the headmaster's office. "Lollipops."

The gargoyle leapt to the side, and the group stepped through. It was a strange collection of students: a Slytherin, two Hufflepuffs, and five Gryffindors. A very unlikely group indeed.

Remus remembered that day perfectly. It was the day that Dumbledore had asked them to join the Order of the Phoenix. Sirius had, of course, demanded to know why a Slytherin would be allowed to join, and the headmaster had simply smiled, his eyes twinkling behind his half-moon spectacles.

They had all accepted of course, and had then been informed that their classmates, Marlene McKinnon, Alice Prewett, Fabian and Gideon Prewett (Liz had let out an audible, angered gasp at the mention of the former twin's name), Frank Longbottom, and Mary MacDonald had already agreed to join.

"So, uhm, I guess we'll be fighting You-Know-Who together, huh?" Blaire had asked him after they were dismissed from the room to return to their packing. The term was over, and it was the last day they would get to spend at the school.

"Yeah. I s'ppose so," Remus shrugged, swallowing a lump in his throat. They walked side by side towards the lake in silence, too nervous to say anything. After what had seemed like hours, Blaire suddenly spoke.

"Do you want some chocolate?"

Remus looked down at the chocolate bar Blaire held in her hand. He hadn't the slightest idea where she had gotten it.

"Er, sure."

The blond grinned, breaking the bar in half and handing him the biggest piece before sinking her teeth into her own. A happy moan escaped her throat, her eyes widening the second after it happened, and her cheeks burned red as she looked away in embarrassment. Remus didn't see what was so embarrassing, so he ignored it.

"You really like chocolate, don't you?" he asked, his mouth full of the candy. At the girl's nod, he asked "why?"

"It's warm. It's sweet. It wards away sadness," she shrugged. "Did you know that, if you encounter a dementor, a small bite of chocolate would make you feel better in a jiffy? Letti was telling me about it the other day; her uncle, Marlene's dad, had been doing research on the stuff. Pretty neat, huh?"

"Yeah," Remus nodded, smiling to himself.

"What about you? Do you like chocolate?"

"I love it," he said. Deep down, he knew that it wasn't the chocolate he loved, but the girl associated with it.

Though they saw each other after graduation, mostly at Order meetings, the two hadn't really had time to talk much. They would smile at each other, wave every now and then, but they were separated by the unintentional barrier that their friends made; not even after they were no longer classified by their school house, Letti and Sirius couldn't, for the life of them, get along.

It wasn't until Blaire had been talking to Liz about the wolfsbane she had started growing in her garden that they spoke again. James, who, for once, wasn't at Lily's side, had overheard their conversation and instantly jumped in.

"Did you say wolfsbane?"

"Yes, why?" Blaire asked, confused.

"Are you any good at potions?"

"No, but Liz is."

"Why do you care?" the redhead asked.

"I need you to make me a potion. It's really difficult to make, and it's not on the market yet."

"What is it?" the two girls asked.

Once the bespectacled Gryffindor had explained about the experimental potion that the Daily Prophet was going on about, a potion that could keep a werewolf's human mind in check during the transformation, he explained why he needed it.

"Wolfsbane is easy to come by, but the potion requires it to be fresh, like picked-less-than-an-hour-ago fresh. Neither Lily or I at good at herbology, so we can't really get ahold of any. You wouldn't mind doing me this favor, would you?" James asked hopefully.

"We'll do it," Liz said.

"But on one condition," Blaire added.

"What? I'll do anything!"

"Who's the werewolf?" the two girls asked simultaneously.

"Anything, except that," James blanched.

"Then we're sorry," Blaire shrugged.

"We can't offer you our services," Liz sighed, smiling apologetically.

"And what services are you offering, love?" a new, smooth voice cut it. Liz turned around and smiled at Fabian, grabbing ahold of his hands and dragging him away from the group with a sly "nothing".

"Look, James," Blaire said, drawing his attention away from the two gingers that had walked away. "I really want to help, I do, but I don't know what I'd be getting myself into if you don't tell me who the wolfsbane is for."

"I understand." And with that, the Gryffindor walked away, dejected.

It wasn't until a week later that the topic of wolfsbane was brought up again, this time by Remus.

"Why does everyone insist on asking me about that?" Blaire snapped. She sighed, her shoulders drooping, "Sorry. I'm just a bit overworked with school."

"Yeah, I heard becoming a professor's hard work, even if all you have to do is ask Dumbledore for a spot on his staff," Remus teased, taking no offense.

"I don't think Professor Sprout would appreciate it if I took her job," the blond laughed, pushing her hair out of the way.

"Yeah, probably not."

They sat in silence, their gazes aimed anywhere but each other. Blaire had made it clear that she wouldn't give up the wolfsbane without the name of the werewolf. Was it safe to tell her? Would she judge him?

"You're the werewolf, aren't you, Remus?"

He choked. "Wha-what?" He cringed as his voice cracked.

"That's why James wanted it, right? To give to you? You were always missing from class when we attended Hogwarts—you said your mum was sick—but yet you'd always be in the hospital wing a few days later."

"How'd yo—?"

"Letti wants to be a healer," Blaire shrugged. "She spent a lot of time under Madam Pomphrey's instruction."

They were silent again, not saying anything. The silence seemed to have become a requirement for every time they conversed. It wasn't until Remus hesitantly nodded that anything was said.

"Chocolate?"

"Yes please," Remus said, smiling as he accepted the sweet, locking his amber gaze with her hazel one.

The next time he saw her lively irises was also the last time.

"Here's the wolfsbane," Blaire said, handing the smoking potion to Remus. Liz hung back, conversing happily with Letti. She had clasped the blond's hands, staring at the two rings that she wore.

"Thanks," Remus said, a blush tainting his cheeks. "Here's your payment," he told her, handing her a brown paper bag.

"Liquor? Really, Remy?" His blush darkened. "You know I don't drink, don't you?"

"Just open it," he choked out through his embarrassment. No one had ever called him Remy before.

The blond sighed and did as he requested. A delighted cheer escaped her lips as she pulled out a handful of chocolate truffles. "Thanks!"

The next thing he knew, he was enveloped in a warm embrace by the petite blond. A slight pressure was felt on his right cheek for a moment before it was gone, as was the hug. It took him a moment to realize that Blaire had kissed him.

"I have to go now, Remy. Albus has me doing a job with the twins, so I'll see you later. We should go to Honeydukes together on Thursday," Blare suggested. He nodded his affirmations, and she grinned widely. "It's a date then!"

But they never got the chance to go to the sweets shops. The next day, Liz, Letti, and Alice were in tears, being comforted by their friends.

"What's wrong?" Remus asked. Liz and Letti looked up at him before throwing their arms around him.

"Sh-sh-she's dead!" Letti choked out.

"They're a-a-all d-dead!" Liz cried, sobbing into his chest.

Fabian, Gideon, and Blaire were attacked by Death Eaters. They died in battle. But Remus refused to let Blaire's love of chocolate die. And he refused to stand Blaire up for their date, even if she was…gone.

From that day on, no matter how heartbroken, Remus would buy chocolate from Honeydukes every Thursday. To him, those sweet, delicious delicacies were the only thing that kept him attached to Blaire.


End file.
